Xbox One to launch in Japan on September 4

Microsoft teases "Halo for Xbox One" but is quiet on JRPGs and apps.

On September 4, Microsoft's Kinect-attached Xbox One will try once again to annoy Japanese gamers who live in small living rooms.

This morning, Microsoft Japan announced that the Xbox One will launch in Japan on September 4, nearly 10 months after its North American and European counterparts. In addition to listing 48 companies as "registered" Xbox One publishers for the country, Microsoft also announced (in Japanese) first-party games slated for Japanese release, including 2013 launch titles Forza Motorsport 5, Dead Rising 3, and Ryse: Son of Rome, along with upcoming games Sunset Overdrive and the tentatively titled "Halo for Xbox One."

The 48 listed publishers include Japanese heavyweights like FromSoftware (Dark Souls), Level-5 (Professor Layton), and Atlus (Persona), along with Western companies like Electronic Arts, Bethesda, and Ubisoft. However, Microsoft's official list of games announced thus far was light in JRPGs and other popular Japanese series, with the exception of Kingdom Hearts III, Final Fantasy XV, D4, and Metal Gear Solid V's two releases.

What's more, today's news failed to mention the living room hub features that Microsoft's Western promotional push has so largely revolved around, so we're left to wonder which media apps the Japanese Xbox One will support at launch.

Today's list of games, along with the first-party offerings listed above, didn't come with price or date information, and the vague reference to "Halo for Xbox One" didn't clarify whether to expect Halo 5, an anniversary edition of Halo 2, or an entirely different Halo entry. (At the very least, it won't be Halo: Spartan Assault, which received its own spot on the upcoming release list.)